Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Journal Response #1: Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

Question:
   "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, -- that is genius. Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."
 -You can either respond freely in your journals or on your blog to the above quotes.

   I believe that Mr. Emerson is trying to say that one should always listen to their own heart. "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, -- that is genius", clearly states believing in yourself is essential for one to be successful. Many times in life, one often wonders whether or not they can trust themselves because of previous shortcomings. In life, I believe that there are always going to be some experiences that are not necessarily awesome! In fact, sometimes experiences can be very painful or embarrassing. For example, you are asked to prepare a dish for a potluck and you were assigned something you have never heard of before. You're heart tells you to make it and try your best, but you choose to make something different because you don't want to make a mistake. On the day of the large gathering of family and friends you show up with your dish, and before long someone has an allergic reaction from your dish! Now, you feel extremely bad because that person got sick from your dish. Not only would you feel bad, but it's embarrassing when people ask you why you didn't make your assigned dish. On the contrary, most of the time, people regret not listing to their hearts or "gut". This is because as it turn out, their "gut" was right. For instance, when writing a test, you circle B for a question you are unsure of. When you finish and check over your answers, you change it to D. A few days later, the teacher hands back the test and you see that the answer that you put down in the first place was in fact correct. Now you begin to hit yourself on the head!

   "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string", and this quote is basically saying, you heart is connected to what you think and do. I think that this quote is relevant to identity because many people can be judged/identified through the way they act. For example, a person that follows their heart every single time will achieve goals that they never thought they could achieve. This is because they are taking chance, believing that their heart knows what is best. Equally, a person who never listens to their heart will realize that life is very dull and boring. They are only going to get so far, because they are unwilling to step out of their comfort zone even if deep down inside they really want to. These two people may be twins and they may look exactly alike on the outside. But, if they were to be interviewed by a specialist, the results would clealry indicate a retracting person and an outgoing person. 


   In conclusion, I strongly believe that listening to your heart is beneficial in developing your personality. This is life, and sometimes your gut makes you feel embarrassed, other times it makes you feel like you should have listened to it. Really, the moral of the quotes is saying that sometimes it takes courage to listen to your heart, and if you do, you will have success. Your heart knows who you are, so you should listen to it because you never know where it will take you!

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